Combination of the Simple Additive (SAW) Approach and Mixture Design to Determine Optimum Cocoa Combination of the Hot Chocolate Beverage

Investigating the effect of different types of cocoa powder and stabilizers on suspension stability of cinnamon-cocoa drink

Sedimentation of particles in cocoa drink is a technological challenge for the food industry. This study investigates the effect of different stabilizers (alginate, xanthan gum or carrageenan) on the suspension stability of cinnamon-cocoa drink made from 2 types of cocoa powder (natural or alkalized). Rheological and microstructural properties determination was used to examine the stabilization effect mechanism. The cocoa powder characteristic was investigated to study the correlation between cocoa powder properties and suspension stability. The results showed that xanthan gum is the most effective stabilizer to prevent particle sedimentation of the cinnamon-cocoa drink. Xanthan gum formed a network entrapping the particles. It increased the viscosity from 2.47 to 70.44 mPa s at a shear rate of 10/s. The drink formulated with alkalized cocoa powder has a better stability than that formulated with natural cocoa powder. However, at the concentration of 0.1% (w/v), xanthan gum could prevent sedimentation regardless the type of cocoa powder. The addition of xanthan gum up to 0.1% (w/v) had no significant effect on pH and antioxidant properties of the cinnamon-chocolate drink with a minor change in the lightness (L*) parameter. As such, the value of L*, pH, phenolic content and antioxidant activity of the cinnamon-cocoa drinks remained stable at around 22.5 ± 0.9, 7.2 ± 0.1, 0.31 ± 0.5 mg epicatechin equivalent /ml and 0.44 ± 0.3 mg tannic acid equivalent /ml, respectively. This study can be useful for the food industry to define a novel strategy to produce "ready-to-drink" cocoa-based beverage with prolonged suspension stability.

Background, Applications and Issues of the Experimental Designs for Mixture in the Food Sector

BACKGROUND

Mixtures play a key role in Food Science and Technology. For studying them, rational approaches should be used. In detail, the experimental designs for mixtures are useful tools for studying the effects of ingredients/components in formulations.

RESULTS

Food Science and Technology is the fourth category among the total records considered in this review. The applications span from food formulation to the composition of modified atmosphere, shelf-life improvement and bioactives extraction. However, the majority of the studies regards few products and ingredients. Simplex-lattice and simplex-centroid designs are the most common used, although some optimal designs, such as the D-optimal, have also interesting applications. Finally, some issues are highlighted, which basically regard the interpretation of the models coefficients and the lack of model validation.

CONCLUSION

In the last decade, mixture designs have been fairly used in the field of Food Science and Technology. Modeling the response(s) allows researchers to achieve a global knowledge of the system under study within the defined experimental domain. However, the majority of application has regarded limited classes of products, and thus an increase in the spectrum of applications is desired.